Napoli face Villarreal away on Tuesday, October 13, in their second Champions League league-phase match. Massimiliano Allegri has not confirmed his starting XI, but he has said Scott McTominay could start after returning from a successful ablation procedure for a mild, benign cardiac arrhythmia.
McTominay underwent the procedure in Manchester on September 8. Napoli described it as a complete success, and further tests on October 7 confirmed he was fit to resume competitive activity. He returned to full training and came on for 33 minutes in Saturday’s 3-0 Serie A win over Frosinone.
Allegri’s exact position is more positive than “fitness far from guaranteed.” At the pre-match press conference in Vila-real, he said: “McTominay is much better. I think he will play from the start, but I will decide on the eve.” Earlier, he had said a start was “possible” but that he had not fully decided the XI.
The article’s claim that McTominay’s surgery is “pending” is therefore incorrect. The operation has already taken place, and the immediate question is how Allegri manages his minutes after a month-long absence—not whether he still needs surgery.
Napoli’s availability issues are also more specific than the original account suggests. Alessandro Buongiorno, Mathias Olivera, Costantino Favasuli, André-Frank Zambo Anguissa, Antonio Vergara and Alisson Santos are unavailable for the trip. Allegri said Anguissa, Olivera and Alisson Santos would return to group training on Wednesday, after the Villarreal match.
The reference to Kalidou Koulibaly is incorrect. Koulibaly is not part of Napoli’s current squad; he left the club in 2022 and is now at Al-Hilal. Napoli’s travelling defenders include Benoit Badiashile, Sam Beukema, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Rafa Marín, Amir Rrahmani and Leonardo Spinazzola.
Allegri’s tactical comments have also been slightly overstated. He said formations were “reductive” and “bar talk,” but he did not frame Villarreal’s structure as the sole determinant of Napoli’s plan. He stressed that Napoli would need order, patience and balance against a Villarreal side he described as tactically strong and coming off an excellent performance against Real Madrid.
Villarreal are without Tanimu and Pépé, according to local reporting, while Napoli’s 19-man squad includes Kevin De Bruyne, Billy Gilmour, Stanislav Lobotka, McTominay, Rasmus Højlund, Noa Lang, David Neres and Matteo Politano. The central selection question is whether McTominay starts after only 33 minutes on his return, with Allegri due to finalise his team on matchday.
